


Truth or Dare?

by Hand_of_the_Alex



Series: Reddie Soulmate aus [1]
Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate AU, its soft, pettywide? i dont know it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 22:37:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20937893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hand_of_the_Alex/pseuds/Hand_of_the_Alex
Summary: When you turn eighteen you are unable to lie to your soulmate. It's Richie's birthday and the losers are going camping.





	Truth or Dare?

Richie turned eighteen before any of the other losers. His birthday was an event he’d been looking forward to, not that he was going to have a huge house party since only his friends would show up anyway. Instead, the losers club were going camping. 

Mike had suggested it; he had enough camping supplies for all of them that he could borrow from his grandfather. Eddie had rejected the idea at first since it wasn’t exactly up to his health code but Richie managed to talk him into it. 

It was going to be fun, Richie knew it. He had bought the local store out of marshmallows and chocolate bars, he’d asked Bill if he could get any coal for a fire and all of his friends would be there the moment whatever magic happened when someone was old enough for their soulmate.

He wouldn’t know who his soulmate was immediately; it wasn’t that easy. He would know when he tried to lie to them. It wasn’t like a Pinocchio kind of thing, thankfully, but if he tried to lie the words would twist themselves into the truth. He would be unable to lie about anything, even jokes or sarcasm wouldn’t get through. 

Richie didn’t know if he wanted a soulmate. He wasn’t one for emotional vulnerability on a good day, never mind all the time. He may be a trashmouth but he did filter himself. 

It wouldn’t affect his birthday at all since he very much doubted any of the losers were his soulmate. That’s not saying he wasn’t hoping for a certain someone.

They all packed into Bev’s and Bill’s respective cars. Richie knew how to drive but his parents wouldn’t let him borrow the car for the entire weekend. Richie was in the back of Bev’s car. He’d called shotgun but Bev took priority for her boyfriend, so Ben was in the front and Richie was in the back with Eddie. 

“So where are we actually going? There aren’t any bears are there? Cos if there are bears I will kill you,” Eddie said in quick succession, not even giving Richie chance to answer.

“There are black bears in Maine but none of have sighted in this area for years,” Ben said from the front seat. He was always a fountain of random knowledge.

“Fuck! We’re going to die for your birthday,” Eddie started to panic.

“We’re not going to die, Eds,” Richie reassured, putting his hand on Eddie’s shoulders.

“If we do, I’ll kill you.”

They drove for another half an hour, Eddie complaining and Richie talking him down. He didn’t think that Eddie was seriously upset otherwise he wouldn’t have joined them.

“Are you excited to be able to find your soulmate, Richie?” Bev asked.

“I’ve already met Eddie’s mom, so at least this will make it official,” he replied making Eddie slap him on the arm. 

“It will be someone you can’t tell that you’ve fucked their mom,” Eddie said. “I, for one, can’t wait for whoever that is.”

“Well, I haven’t fucked your grandma so I can’t tell your mom that I fucked her mom.”

“Will you ever tire of the ‘your mom’ jokes?” Eddie sighed.

“I’ll never tire of your mom,” Richie put his hand out for a high five before remembering that Stan was in the other car.

It only took another five minutes until they were at the site that Mike had suggested. It was backed by a small woods on one side and a lake on another. Bill, Mike and Stan had gotten there before Richie, Eddie, Bev and Ben and had already pitched a few tents. They’d picked a place close by the trees so the wind wouldn’t be too loud on the tents, but close enough to the lake so they wouldn’t have to walk too far to swim. 

As soon as Bev parked, Richie bolted out of the car. He stripped whilst he ran and jumped into the cool lake. He had been boiling to death in the car so the cold water was amazing on his sweaty skin. It wasn’t long until he was joined by someone, he couldn’t see them properly yet since he left his glasses on the shore. 

“Shit, it’s freezing,” Eddie said as he swam closer to Richie. 

“Better than boiling to death in my car,” Bev said after she’d jumped in.

The rest of the losers soon joined them in the lake. Richie knew this weekend was going to be perfect already; it was already starting out to be just as he imagined. 

“Eddie, get on my shoulders,” Richie said.

Eddie did as Richie asked, just as Bev got on Mike’s shoulders and Stan on Bill’s. Ben was happy to watch his friends it seemed as he backed away. They all tried to dislodge the top person, pushing each other through the water. Stan was the first to fall since neither he nor Bill were the biggest of people so they were easy to topple. It didn’t take long for Bev to get Eddie from Richie’s shoulders, the force of the push sending Richie down as well. 

In the water Richie could see less than he could out of it. He was near-blind, so Eddie grabbed his hand and pulled the two of them back to the surface. The blurry image of Eddie, shirtless and soaked was almost too much for Richie so he splashed him in the face, starting up a splash war. 

They only left the water when Ben’s stomach rumbled, making them realise that they were all hungry too. None of them redressed and went to start a fire. The coal didn’t take much time to burn so they all got close to the fire to warm up. Richie broke out the s’more ingredients instead of anything nutritious for their dinner but none of them complained.

As it started to get dark Richie saw that they had a problem. He counted the beige tents and there were only five, for the seven of them. The tents were only big enough for one person too. 

“Um, Mike, I thought you said you had enough tents?” Richie asked.

“Yeah, I did, but when we opened the other ones they must have been eaten by moths, all of them had holes in them.”

“Ben and I don’t mind sharing,” Bev said and Ben blushed.

“That leaves one person still out in the open,” Stan said, “and I am not sharing with any of you.”

“I think I’m a bit too big to share with any of you, sorry,” Mike said.

“Eddie is the smallest, so he should have to share,” Stan added.

“Fuck you,” Eddie responded.

“I’m b-bigger than you Richie, so you sh-sh-should share with Eddie,” Bill said.

“It’s my birthday!” Richie whined. 

“What? Am I not good enough to share a tent with?” Eddie said, his voice shrill.

“What? No.”

“So, you’re too much of a chicken to do it?” Eddie dared.

“Fuck it, we’re sharing and I’m going to cuddle you just to show you that I’m no chicken,” Richie replied.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to share with Eddie, it was that being that close to someone, someone you definitely had a crush on, alone, would be a bit much for Richie. He wasn’t one not to rise to a dare, however. He’d share the shit out of that tent with Eddie.

It wasn’t late enough for them to actually go to sleep yet since they were teenagers and the sun had only just gone down. They all circled around the fire and took it in turns to tell ghost stories. Bill was the best at it; he had a way with words that had them all captivated for hours. Afterwards, he admitted that he wanted to be an author when he grew up and everyone immediately supported him, even if the ending of his ghost story sucked. 

Stan went to bed first; he wanted to wake up a bit earlier than everyone to watch out for a bird he was interested in. Mike was next since he’d been awake since the early hours of the morning to help out on the farm. Over the next hour, the rest of the losers retired until it was only Richie by the fire. 

He sat on the uncomfortable ground for as long as he could before he started to yawn every twenty seconds. It was almost midnight, almost his birthday. 

As quietly as he could, Richie stumbled through the dark and to his tent. He slithered into the tent and beside Eddie. He wasn’t as subtle as he thought though as Eddie punched him in the arm for waking him up. 

Since Richie wasn’t a little bitch, he wrapped his arms around Eddie’s body and spooned him as tightly as he could. He’d told Eddie he was going to cuddle him and Richie was a man of his word.

“Get the fuck off me,” Eddie squealed as Richie hugged him tighter to his chest.

“No can do, Edwardo, I told you that I would cuddle you, no backing out now.”

Eddie tried to elbow Richie but his arms were too tightly pressed against his body. Realising it was pointless, Eddie stopped struggling and relaxed into Richie’s body. 

“At least we won’t get hypothermia,” Eddie mumbled.

“If that’s what you need to tell yourself to enjoy this.”

Eddie’s watch started to beep then. It’s sound deafening in the silence of the tent. Richie released Eddie a bit so that he could shut the thing up. 

Eddie turned it off and rolled around so that he was facing Richie. 

“Happy birthday,” he said.

“You set an alarm for my birthday?” Richie asked.

He couldn’t see very clearly but he felt the heat of Eddie’s cheek suddenly.

“It’s an important birthday,” Eddie argued.

Richie paused. He needed to make sure. “Hey, Eds. I fucked your mom.”

Eddie pushed against Richie’s chest and turned back around to sleep. Richie wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight.

He knew it was a longshot but when he was able to lie to Eddie just then, Richie’s hope was dashed and his heart hurt. He didn’t think he wanted a soulmate after all.

-

“Get your sweaty arms off me,” Eddie grumbled, pushing Richie over and into the side of their tiny tent. 

“Good morning to you too,” Richie mumbled and opened his eyes.

The morning light illuminated the tent with a beige tint. Richie turned to watch Eddie sit up, his bed hair was the cutest thing he’d ever seen. He couldn’t help himself and reached over to mess it up further. 

Eddie slapped his hand away. “Get the fuck off me.”

Richie held his slapped hand to his chest in mock hurt. “It’s my birthday, Eds, you need to be nice to me.”

Eddie looked at Richie’s hand. “What? Did you want me to kiss it better?”

Richie would like that a lot, he thought. “I’m sorry, Eddie-bear, but the only Kaspbrak lips to go near me will be your moms.”

Eddie reached out to push Richie. Richie leant back out of the way. Unfortunately, the tent wasn’t big enough for that so as he pushed back against the side, it made the entire tent capsize, the peg on the other side being pulled out of the ground. 

“Shit!” Eddie yelped as he fell onto Richie. 

Richie protected Eddie from falling onto the hard ground as he held on tight to him. Richie’s back wasn’t as lucky as he fell. Eddie looked at Richie, their faces a breath apart, and laughed. Richie couldn’t help but join in; they were a mess but it was funny. 

They were cry laughing by the time Stan opened up the tent so check on them. Stan took one look at them and started to laugh along with them. 

“What happened?” Stan finally asked.

“Richie’s fat ass broke our tent,” Eddie said and crawled off of Richie.

“You’re the one who pushed me.”

“No, you jumped back.”

Stan rolled his eyes but reached his hand in to help them out of the tent. Eddie lightly kicked Richie in his face on his way out. Richie pushed his way out, not needing Stan’s help.

“How were the birds, Stan-the-man?” Richie asked.

“They were-” Stan started before Richie cut him off again.

“And I’m talking about the feathered kind unless those weren’t the birds you went to watch,” Richie nudged Stan.

“Beep beep, Richie,” Bev said as she left her tent.

“I just don’t get why he goes bird watching if he means actual birds,” Richie defended himself to Bev.

“It’s peaceful,” Stan said and walked off. 

Richie shrugged at Bev and went to find Eddie. He was brushing his teeth using a bottle of water in lew of a sink. Richie hadn’t thought to bring his toothbrush so he squirted some of Eddie’s toothpaste into his mouth and rinsed it out. It was gross but he knew Eddie wouldn’t let him near him if he had bad breath.

Mike cooked them all breakfast. He’d brought some sausages with him from the farm. Breakfast was more like lunch by the time they were done. The belting heat from the midday sun made them all go back to the lake. 

“How come we never bring swimsuits with us when we know we’re going to swim?” Eddie asked.

They were all in their underwear once again. It wasn’t anything new to them since they’d swam like that since they were kids, but Eddie did have a point. They always had to lounge about after their swim so they didn’t soak their clothes.

“We could always go naked. I know you’ve been dying to see me out of my clothes, Eddie-spaghetti,” Richie said.

“Fuck off,” Eddie said and splashed him.

They stayed out in the water until the sun started to set. The pruning of their skin was extreme but none of them minded since they’d had such a good time. It was nice for them to play like kids and not get picked on. They hadn’t really been seriously bullied since Henry Bowers got arrested for stabbing his dad and the rest of his gang had either left town or been arrested alongside their leader.

They were still the losers but it didn’t matter anymore. They got the odd snide comment or their bags pushed off their shoulders, but that was it. They were left alone. It helped a lot when Mike convinced his granddad to let him go to high school with them. Mike was tall and people found him rather imposing for some reason, so when he was around the losers were left alone.

The fire was lit again, s’mores were made, and Richie finally broke out his beer. He only had the four bottles that he stole from his dad’s fridge but they were all lightweights so it didn’t take much for them to get tipsy. 

“Let’s play truth or dare!” Ben said, his cheeks bright red from the alcohol and that Bev’s hand was resting on his thigh.

“Haystack, yes!” Richie exclaimed. 

“Who’s going first?” Bill asked.

“It’s my birthday so I get to ask first,” Richie proclaimed, patting his chest with his fist.

The losers nodded at that; it was fair. 

“Right, Bev. Truth or dare?” Richie asked.

“Truth.”

“When did you and Benny-boy lose your V-cards?” Richie asked, going straight into it.

Ben went even redder but Bev just smiled. “Three months ago, my aunt was out overnight so we had my house to ourselves.”

Richie toasted them both. “Knew you had it in you, Benny.”

“My turn then?” Bev asked and got nods in return. “Bill. Truth or dare?”

Bill pressed his mouth into a line as he thought it over. “Dare.”

Bev smiled maliciously. “I dare you to streak around the camp.”

Bill frowned. “F-f-f-fuck you,” he said but still got undressed down to nothing and ran around the camp.

Once Bill was back and clothed, they resumed the game. 

“Mike. Truth or d-d-dare?” Bill asked.

“Truth.”

“Do you have a c-crush on anyone?”

Mike smiled softly. “No. I’ve never had a crush on anyone ever actually.”

“Ever?” Eddie exclaimed.

“I can tell when someone is nice looking but I never want to go steady with them or anything,” Mike explained. “Right, my turn. Ben, truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Ben said.

“I dare you to eat the ash s’more,” Mike said. 

The s’more in question had been Eddie’s but he dropped it onto the remnants of yesterday’s fire and it got covered in ash and dirt.

Ben sighed deeply but got up and grabbed the smore. He winced slightly before eating it down in one big bite.”That will be hell on my diet,” he smiled. “Right, Stan. Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Have you ever kissed someone?” Ben asked.

“Yeah,” Stan said, looking down at his feet.

“Who?”

“That wasn’t the question,” Stan shot back.

Ben shrugged. Stan was right.

“Eddie, truth or dare?” Stan asked.

“Dare,” Eddie said in an odd change of events.

Stan smiled. “I dare you to kiss Richie, on the lips.”

Eddie went bright red. Richie glared at Stan. Stan smiled back knowingly. That bastard. Richie would never go to his Bar Mitzvah again, not that he’d ever have a second one but that wasn’t the point.

Eddie was a stubborn little shit when he wanted to be, though, so he marched up to Richie, took Richie’s glasses off and full on kissed him. 

Richie was alive. It was as if every nerve ending was responding to the simple press of Eddie’s lips. He leant into the kiss as Eddie put his hands on Richie’s cheeks. He was completely lost in Eddie and he never wanted to be found again.

Cheers sounded from the other losers. Remembering that they weren’t alone, both boys pulled apart. Richie couldn’t see clearly since Eddie took his glasses, but one blurry look at Eddie’s red cheeks and his chest rising and falling as quickly as Richie’s was told him that it wasn’t only him that enjoyed that kiss.

Eddie sat back down and Richie reached for his glasses. He took a proper look at Eddie, his pupils were so dilated his eyes looked black and his lips were swollen into a lovely red shade. Eddie was looking back at Richie, his eyes flicking to Richie’s lips every so often.

“Richie. Truth or dare?” Eddie finally asked.

“Dare,” Richie said, shocking no one.

“I dare you to spend the rest of the game in your underwear,” Eddie said and Richie could have sworn that he licked his lips.

Richie smiled and got undressed. It was an easy one since Richie wasn’t shy about his body.

“Like what you see Eds?” Richie asked, flexing his minimal muscle.

“It’s your turn, Rich,” Eddie replied, avoiding the question.

They carried on the game. Everyone who had picked truth in the previous round had to pick dare and vice versa. Stan had dared Bev to kiss Ben but neither of them could close their mouths so it was just a sloppy mess. Bill had made Ben tell them his most embarrassing memory: his mom walking in on him having ‘Ben’ time.

“Truth or dare, Richie?” Mike asked even though Richie could only pick truth.

“Truth, obviously.”

“Have you ever actually had sex?”

Richie squirmed slightly but decided to lie. “Ask Eddie’s mom.”

Eddie groaned loudly. “C’mon, Richie, answer.”

Richie looked at Eddie then. He would lie, obviously. “No.”

Richie paused and frowned. He was about to say yes, he knew he was. He wouldn’t admit to even his best friends that he was a virgin after all the jokes he had made through the years.

“I knew it!” Bill said.

Richie turned to Bill. “I was joking, I’m not a virgin.”

“Liar,” Eddie said.

Turning back to him Richie said. “What? I am.”

_ Oh shit _ , Richie thought. He was about to say that he wasn’t but he couldn’t. He had lied to Bill easily but as soon as he spoke to Eddie it got twisted around. But he’d lied to Eddie that morning in their tent.

“Richie?” Bev asked already catching on to what was happening. “What time were you born?”

Richie thought back to if his mom had ever told him. He remembered something about how his dad said that he’d been up all day by the time Richie was born. That must have meant he was born sometime in the night. Sometime around this time. He was officially eighteen it seemed.

“Holy shit!” he shouted out and jumped up. 

“What?” Eddie jumped up too and looked around where Richie was sitting. “Was it a snake? I swear to God, Richie, if it was a snake I will kill you for bringing me out here.”

Richie wanted to double check and tried to tell Eddie it was a snake. “It wasn’t a snake.

“What’s going on?” Ben asked.

Bev smiled at her boyfriend. “I think Richie just turned eighteen.”

“He’s been eighteen all day?” Eddie said, jumping into their conversation.

“He must have been born at night.”

“And why is this a big thing?” Mike asked.

“Richie,” Bev called. “Lie to Eddie.”

“What?” Eddie squawked.

Richie was freaking out. This morning he’d had the tiny hope that this would happen but he’s resigned himself to not actually wanting to meet his soulmate. Now all of his friends were surrounding him as he panicked about what was happening. 

“Richie, try it,” Bev urged on.

He had to get it over with, let Eddie reject him and then spend the rest of his birthday depressed. He turned to Eddie, kneeled in front of him. Eddie was wide eyed as Richie put his hands on Eddie’s knees. 

“Eds, I didn’t fuck your mom.”

“You can just say that anyway, this isn’t proof!” Eddie was freaking out.

“Alright then, ask me anything,” Richie said. His voice softer than it’s ever been when addressing his friends.

Eddie blushed profusely as he asked. “Did you enjoy that kiss earlier?”

“Yes. It was the best kiss of my life. My only kiss actually.” Richie didn’t mean to let that last one slip and put his hands over his mouth. 

“Do you even like me like that?” Eddie asked. 

The camp was quiet as they all waited for Richie’s response. Richie smiled and took Eddie’s hands.

“I’ve had a crush on you since we were thirteen,” Richie admitted.

Eddie’s eyes were wide. “Do you actually think that you’re my soulmate?”

“Yes, you’re my soulmate,” Richie said and the truth rang true.

“Holy shit,” Eddie whispered.

The rest of the losers who hadn’t said anything in a while immediately all got up at once. Muttering things about needing sleep and how they’d see them in the morning. 

Richie got up off the floor and took Mike’s vacated seat next to Eddie. He didn’t let go of one of Eddie’s hands as he moved, he needed to make sure that this was real, that Eddie, his soulmate, was real. 

“Do you like me like that?” Richie asked, his voice almost a whisper.

Eddie squeezed Richie’s hand. “Do you think I’d have my first kiss with just anybody. Yes, I like you dumbass.”

Richie couldn’t control his face as he grinned so widely his mouth hurt. 

“Should we try a second kiss then?” Richie suggested.

Eddie didn’t say anything and just grabbed Richie’s face, pushed Richie’s glasses up onto his head so that they were obstructed in his hands, and kissed him. 

If Richie thought the first kiss was good it was nothing compared to the second, and the third and the fourth. Richie eventually lost count. They stayed outside for a few more hours, talking and kissing, mostly kissing, until they retired to their tent. 

Mike had fixed their tent, thankfully, so both of them climbed in and cuddled up as close as they could. Richie couldn’t believe that he could do this now. He could hold on to Eddie, he could touch Eddie, and he could kiss Eddie. It was perfect.

“I think I will actually miss the ‘your mom’ jokes,” Eddie said.

“I think I won’t miss your mom,” Richie tried to joke but it got ruined by the truth.

Eddie laughed. “It will be nice actually having the truth from you though.”

“Fuck off,” Richie laughed. He could manage being truthful to Eddie and Eddie alone.

-

Eddie resented being the youngest of the losers, he’d talked about it to Richie so often after everyone’s birthdays. Richie just patted his soulmate’s head since he couldn’t do anything about it. However, it was finally Eddie’s eighteenth. They were having a little losers get together in Richie’s basement. 

Richie had tried to decorate as best that a teenage boy could. He found a ‘happy birthday’ banner from when he was six, he bought party hats and asked Bev to bake a cake. It was a ramshackle looking party, but it was perfect for them. 

At around ten in the morning, Eddie ran to Richie’s house. The party wasn’t for hours yet but Eddie came around every morning to hang out with Richie when they didn’t have school. Eddie looked to be out of breath as he knocked on Richie’s door. Richie raised one eyebrow at his boyfriend’s state.

“I was born at nine forty-two,” was all Eddie said.

“Okay?”

“In the morning.”

“You’re going to have to elaborate.”

Eddie sighed. “I’m officially eighteen.”

Richie got it then and smiled. “Go on then, lie to me.”

“You’re cute,” Eddie said and smacked his hands over his mouth. “That’s so weird. I was going to say you’re ugly but I just couldn’t.”

Richie invited Eddie in. “You’re not allowed in the basement until later because it’s all done up for you,” Richie said.

“I’m guessing that you will never be able to throw me a surprise party now,” Eddie said as Richie led him upstairs to his bedroom.

“Oh well,” Richie said as they both sat on his single bed. “Hey, Eds, I need to tell you something.”

“Okay, go for it.”

“I’m pretty sure that I really fucking love you,” Richie said.

“Well, that’s great because I really fucking love you too.”

Richie looked Eddie over. He was wearing a cute little polo shirt and jeans. “You know, we have quite a few hours until anyone is home.”

Eddie looked at him confused before understanding. “You do need to give me a birthday present.”

-

“Richie, truth or dare?” Eddie asked. 

They had been partying in Richie’s basement for a while and as they started to wind down they decided on their favourite old game of truth or dare. Whenever a truth was involved, however, a soulmate always had to ask it. Ben and Bev did it so it was Eddie’s turn to ask Richie his truth.

“Truth, as if I could pick anything else.”

Eddie got a sly look that Richie had never seen on him before. “Have you ever had sex?”

Richie looked at his soulmate and smiled. “Yes I have.”

**Author's Note:**

> plz validate me and comment
> 
> also imma be writing so many reddie soulmate aus so if u have a specific au youre wanting comment it
> 
> tumblr: stan-the-pan


End file.
